Chapter 278
Chapter 278
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 278
Chapter Title: Just Kill It the Same Way
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We just have to kill it the same way, right?
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga!
The dragon's raging breath scraped against my ears.
Even though it wasn't aimed at us—it had been fired into empty air.
Its sheer power was insane.
“Ku, kuaaaak!”
“It's hot! It hurts!”
“Block it! Shield, reinforce the shields more!”
Just the act of unleashing it had dealt a massive shock to the rankers.
And that was far from all.
“Th-the dragon's head is coming down!”
“Block it!”
“No, block what, you madman! Just keep pouring on the attacks! Don't let it lower its neck!”
Ku-kwa-ga-ga-ga!
The rankers began to move on instinct.
No one needed to explain.
‘The moment that comes down, we're done for.’
‘We’ll all melt away... Even its dying breath is too much for us...!’
‘We have to attack. If we want to live, we have to push it back!’
The instinct for self-preservation, innate to all living beings, surged forth.
Each one unleashed the most powerful trump card they could muster toward the dragon's neck.
But that wasn't all.
“Show this dragon the might of the great Smith royal family!”
With the Demon King's shout.
[The mid-rank Demon King 'Jack Smith' unleashes the power of the Demon King!]
[Subordinate ancient demonic beasts and demon nobles are summoned for a limited time!]
Jjee-eo-eok!
The empty air split open grotesquely.
Like a monster opening its maw, demonic beasts and demons poured out from the rift.
Kee-e-eek!
Kiaaa!
The sight of hideously comical monsters charging at the dragon.
It was hard to tell who the good guys and bad guys were.
Demonic beasts wrapping flexibly and coiling around the dragon's body.
Dozens of demons unleashing all sorts of demonic techniques.
- Kyaaaak! You filthy pests...!
The dragon, which had vented its breath into the innocent sky, bellowed in rage.
Its greatest weapon had been perfectly timed and stolen away.
It might not sway the battle's outcome much, but the situation was undeniably unfavorable.
- If you think you've won just by making me tilt my head once, you're gravely mistaken! Kraaara-ra-ra-ra!
The dragon roared with tremendous force.
The Dragon Fear embedded in that roar chilled the blood of everyone present.
The instinctive terror that any animal couldn't help but feel.
But.
From that empty air.
It was then that Hasera's foot moved.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Heavenly Demon Step Art.
Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon Step.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwaang!
Like thunder crashing repeatedly in the sky, countless footsteps overwhelmed the entire ground.
The cracked earth shook, and an earthquake erupted.
Ah.
Step Art.
Could something like this truly be called a step art?
It crushed the Dragon Fear, which instilled primal fear, with sheer momentum alone.
If that step art's momentum had been directed at the rankers?
It might have forced every ranker below hyper ranker to their knees in prostration.
“Crazy, as expected of Hasera?”
“...Canceling out the dragon's momentum with just footsteps?”
“Whew, now I can breathe easier...!”
But that was hardly the end.
The concentrated barrage from a total legion of 8,888 skeletons.
Plus the two hundred or so rankers who hadn't fled.
“This...”
“Looks doable?”
“Huaaah! Yeah, let's do it! That dragon! We're gonna take it down too!”
A sprout of hope bloomed in the rankers' hearts.
In what had seemed a hopeless situation, this turnaround made their blood boil.
Their bodies heated up, adrenaline surged.
“Yeah, we're rankers, right? We're different from the others!”
“Right! Let's show the world! That it's us rankers, not the Earth Dragon, who protect Earth! That humans are the masters of Earth!”
Fear turned to courage, despair to hope.
Yeah.
No matter how powerful the dragon was.
With the Demon King of the demon world helping.
With that indomitable Heavenly Demon helping.
With the Skeleton Emperor helping.
Wasn't it worth a shot?
- Kukuku. Pathetic.
Of course.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga!
The dragon's power crushed their hopes in an instant.
- Fine, I've decided. I'll wipe out your entire species from this world!
Dragon Tongue.
Unlike human magic, which required chants or mana preparation, this was word-based sorcery enacted simply by speech.
Countless high-tier spells, each capable of crumbling a city, rained down.
Kuuu-uuu-uuu!
The churning earth split wide open, and from the depths, fierce lava pillars erupted in a rush.
The lava that terrifyingly enveloped the rankers and the beautiful magic dyeing the sky—it was nothing short of spectacular.
‘This is...’
I scowled, spear in hand as I unleashed attacks.
It was gruesome.
Insanely strong, in the most gruesome way.
No matter how strong the Demon King was or how mad the Heavenly Demon.
It wouldn't work against an ancient dragon of this caliber.
Look at that.
The demonic beasts were being shredded like chicken breast, weren't they?
‘But.’
There was definitely hope.
Wasn't the situation just like back then?
I immediately shifted my view and opened the chat window.
[‘Chat Window’ Name - Dragon Slayer Classmates]
[Members (7/7)]
A group of those with experience slaying dragons.
[Skeleton Emperor(Skeleton Emperor) : Everyone, if possible, gather at my location.]
I typed right away, and replies came within seconds.
[Spacian(Spacian) : I see it over there. Hold on, coming right now. Bring the others too, right?]
[Water Witch(Water Witch) : I'm with the Tower Master...! What's going on?]
[Absolute Matchless(Absolute Matchless) : You don't mean...?]
Yes, exactly.
Back then, and now, same ancient dragon grade.
We just kill it the same way, right?
[Spacian(Spacian) : Yeah, that's the only answer right now.]
[Water Witch(Water Witch) : Got it. The Tower Master will understand. By the way, doesn't this dragon seem even crazier than back then?]
[Spacian(Spacian) : Dude, it's different. Back then, those two went at it until they were nearly dead, right?]
[Water Witch(Water Witch) : True, that's right.]
My old teammates arrived at my side in less than ten seconds.
Jiiing! Jii-iing!
Because Vladimir had opened a spatial gate to bring everyone over.
“It's been a while since we all gathered like this, Team Leader?”
The leisurely-arriving Spacian grinned.
Following behind, Olena muttered with a tense expression.
“We just do the same as back then, right?”
“Yeah.”
As I nodded.
Porrrruk!
A cool stream of water enveloped my body.
Olena's water-attribute protective barrier.
A special spell that blocked penetration by the dragon's body and supplied oxygen too.
“But this time might be different from back then. Back then, Aranbalon couldn't predict Hoon entering at all, but look at that thing now.”
Olena pointed at the rampaging dragon.
The dragon wasn't just casting magic—it was simultaneously dispelling the magic tower's spells.
“Insane multitasking speed. No wonder it's the lord of magic. It cancels them the moment we prepare. With more mages here than back then, it seems even more sensitive.”
“Then it's tricky.”
Vladimir furrowed his brow.
“We've never been dispelled before, but if it cancels mid-teleport... Ugh, nightmare.”
Imagining his body disintegrating mid-air, Vladimir looked nauseated.
“No.”
I shook my head firmly.
“This isn't the time to weigh risks.”
There was no time to worry about anyone's safety, and not a single ranker here was safe anyway.
“But still...”
“You know what I'm going to say.”
In the worst case, we'd just die—what else?
Recklessness was my life, my trademark.
I looked back at the dragon.
The Demon King, Heavenly Demon, and Tower Master were fighting hard.
But humanity's end was only a matter of time.
“If I get inside and wreak havoc, the other hyper rankers can land proper hits.”
Once inside, disrupting things was something I could handle.
I could summon skeletons or unleash Poison Fog.
“Damn it, fine! Kapu, briefing!”
At Vladimir's shout, Kapu responded.
“The coordinates from Clairvoyance: center-left bottom, 10m diameter area.”
“Same as back then? Yeah, the Dragon Slayer's got this!”
Muttering to himself.
Vladimir swung his staff and began chanting.
Hwaruruk!
I gripped my Godslayer Spear and prepared too.
A brief moment passed.
“Team Leader, good luck.”
Whoosh!
The moment his swinging staff felt like it overlapped with last time.
Flash!
Light burst into my vision.
* * *
- Kukuku, bugs. Crawl and thrash all you want. In the end, death is all that awaits you.
The Earth Dragon laughed.
Yeah, truth be told, he acknowledged it a little deep down.
He never dreamed they'd push him this far.
The ability to connect dimensions and pour in otherworldly creatures was impressive, for sure.
And when that puny body of an inferior lifeform unleashed momentum rivaling a constellation—it was surprising.
But.
Playtime was over.
- Regrettable, but time to die, all of you.
Ku-ga-ga-ga-ga!
The moment the dragon finished speaking, the demonic beasts exploded like fireworks.
Small ones, large ones.
No exceptions.
- You too.
Kwaduduk!
The dragon flying in the air clenched its talons slightly.
“...!”
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
Blade winds poured toward Hasera and the Tower Master.
Not mere wind—these were as sharp as its own talons and as heavy as its own weight.
- If you can block it, try.
Brias was certain.
Like crushing ants one by one.
By picking them off individually instead of AOE, he'd win for sure.
But.
- Hm?
In that instant, an odd sensation hit him.
An instinctive sense of wrongness and discomfort.
- No way.
Wuuuung!
The focused dragon spread mana, scanning the surroundings.
In that moment, an enormous surge of energy rippled from an impossible place.
None other than inside its own body.
- Kraaara-ra-ra-ra!
The enraged Earth Dragon roared.
How dare they.
A lowly race crawling into his body?
The dragon could not tolerate it.
- Trying some trick is admirable, but sorry. That move will be your undoing.
As the lord of magic, the dragon.
Could launch skills even at invisible foes.
And the spell the dragon prepared this time was none other than.
‘Power Word Kill’(SSS Grade).
An ancient spell that instantly killed one living being within close range, no questions asked.
A cheat-level spell that even this dragon could use only once a year.
A bit wasteful on such a race, but the dragon was desperate in his own way.
That position was right near his heart.
And judging by the energy output, it could deal serious damage—he had no choice but to go all out.
- Parasite filth. Farewell.
Brias mercilessly unleashed the spell toward his own interior.